One of the greatest challenges for many who work in kidmin is the lack of funds. Some ministries operate with sufficient financial resources for weekly programs and materials, and that's great. But there may be little remaining for extra programs and events or to create themed environments. For some churches and children's ministries, the budget is virtually non-existent. (Been there.. know all about it!) And this makes it really difficult when you are trying to create colour and excitement in your areas.

Have you considered the impact of that cheap and often overlooked decorating media- balloons? I have frequently noticed the number of store windows that are decorated with balloons and they look colourful and attractive. (Shop displays are a great source of inspiration for decorating kidmin areas, by the way.)

Check out some of these balloon designs.. Clicking on any of the designs in the gallery will take you to more information and instructions for how to make these colourful displays. And, most do not require a helium tank. Check it out and have fun designing your areas.

This post contains graphics. If you cannot see the images, click here to view.

We've recently introduced the Bible memory program 'Impress Kids' into your Sunday morning kids' church program. These online games encourage kids to learn Bible verses to earn points. The verses are ones that we have chosen to correlate with our program lessons and materials.

Although the kids have their own login details to play at home, we have set up some computers at church with internet access so that kids can play these games together before and after church.

It's a great incentive for the kids to be involved and play the games, encouraging each other to earn extra points and helping if they forget the next word in the verse. It also occupies the kids in a meaningful way while their parents take some time to talk with others over a cup of coffee. We've even had some adults offer some additional computers to help out with this initiative.

This type of church family focus and involvement would not have happened, though, if we hadn't made the effort to inform the church family of this program.

We included an information slide with the weekly church announcements and printed up copies to slip into the church bulletin. We'd also taken some time to update the snr pastor about the program and receive his support, so he was able to mention the program to the whole church family and encourage them to pray for the kids both at home and during their regular Sunday morning programs.

Even those without children like to know what's happening in Children's Ministry. We had often had families turn up at church because a neighbour or friend told them about the activities of our children's ministry. Take the time to share the information and excitement of your programs with the whole church family.

If you'd like to use our slide to promote Impress Kids with your church family, you can find the slide below, as well as

'Help us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.'Psalm 90:12

Robert D. Smith once titled his article, 'Everyone who reads this post will die.' It certainly grabs your attention and although it's true, perhaps it might discourage you from reading. The point of his article, though, was to encourage his readers to re-evaluate their lives to see whether there may be ways to add purpose and meaning to daily activities.

For example, did you know that:* We spend nearly 5 times more days watching TV than caring for friends and family* We spend only slightly more time investing in our communities and churches than we do grooming ourselves.* We spend over 23 years of our lives (after the age of 15) asleep.

Take a look at the clip below that portrays your life as a counted heap of jellybeans. It's amazing, and a little sobering to see the pile of jellybeans disappearing in often meaningless activities.

Now, I know that I always seem busy, but is that busyness meaningful? And children's ministry is time and labour intensive. But maybe I should plan my time for greater impact. For example, if I watch half as much TV I would have another 1338 days. I could use my time more wisely by listening to podcasts and audio books while travelling. I can enjoy more of my meals with others to create memorable experiences with family and build connection and community with others. I can spend time developing team and leaders to share the load rather than doing everything myself. How can you alter your day and your activities for greater impact?

Recently, I came across this great little infographic. I must admit that I love infographics- they present relevant information in concentrated doses that I can easily absorb. This infographic, Sticky Teaching by Chris Lema, is particularly useful for those who work in children's ministry for it highlights the need for us all to regularly evaluate how we teach.

While we all talk about the rapid changes in technology and how information is shared, and regularly discuss the need to keep pace with these developments, are we actually developing our teaching strategies to reach and impact the kids in our children's ministries in new and innovative ways? Or, do we merely teach as we have always taught and just include a couple of powerpoint slides or the occasional movie clip?

I believe that our work with kids, our teaching techniques, should be cutting edge and that we should be constantly looking for better ways to reach out and impact lives for Christ.Take a look at this infographic- share it with your team- and discuss ways that you could alter your Sunday morning or midweek program for greater impact. The information is also available as a pdf for those that would like to print poster version for regular reference. (see below or here.)

Today's kids operate in a world that is heavily vision-oriented. Input from media, technology and in particular, smart phones, iPads and tablets rely almost exclusively on graphics. So, it is crucial for children's ministry to ensure that visual resources are a major part of the learning environment.

Graphics for teaching It has long been recognised that children (and adults) will retain more information through visual stimuli. Even with a talented storyteller and communicator, kids will remember 75% of what they see compared to 13% of what is heard. Including graphics also supports those kids that are visual learners.

Visual resources for kidmin If you're looking for quality visual resources for your kidmin programs, then check out the resources offered by Eikon- Bible Art. Their stunning graphics can be used in many different contexts in children's ministry- Sunday morning, mid-week programs, kids' segments in church and more. And the prices are affordable, with some free downloads. These powerpoint slides and packs provide the image you need.. you tell the story in your own words.

Variety of resources available You will find a large library of powerpoint files and packs for your Bible lessons and stories. These downloadable files include powerpoint slides and printable activity sheets. You may be more interested in collections of still images for your lesson needs and these can be found on DVD. There are short, downloadable films. Legends of Faith are available as comics/ ebooks. A missionary focus is being developed with stories such as Jim Elliot, David Livingstone and Mary Jones in the Tales of Truth series.

Craft activities for kids are so much more valuable than just time-filler activities. Kids learn best by doing, being involved and creating. Many kids will listen more effectively if their hands are occupied. Craft activities provide the opportunities for all these. While kids are creating, they are also happy to discuss the lesson and apply it to their lives at home and at school.

Obviously, the craft activity should relate to the lesson, the Bible point or the Bible verse as a basic reinforcement of the lesson or as a stimuli for discussion. But sometimes, it's difficult to find a craft that does relate to a particular lesson. It may also be difficult to find a craft that both girls and boys will enjoy.

That was certainly our experience, last Sunday. We've been enjoying one of the programs from Elevate- 'Altitude'. The program deals with lessons from the Beatitudes- Jesus' sermon on the mount. The Altitude program welcomes kids to the Anaconda Mountain range, home to some of the world's toughest peaks and also home to Altitude, the best base camp and climbing shop there is.

Great! The kids have enjoyed the lessons and some of the great climbing style games and activities included in the program materials. But we just needed a craft activity that everyone would enjoy. The focus of our lesson was Matthew 5:5: God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.So... we created the following frig magnet idea. You can download the background file if you wish to use the idea yourself.

Each child was given a background printed sheet and a coloured card frame. The background included the Bible verse and Bible point. They needed to glue the frame to the background, and then attach a magnet to the back. Last, they had to learn to tie a Figure 8 knot into the piece of twine they were given.

They did really well.. and yes, even the boys were involved in the activity.

We live in a visual age and a picture really does say a thousand words, whether it's an infographic, a picture collage or Instagram image. And this is especially true with children. From picture story books to the graphics-saturated technology that is an integral part of their lives, kids expect graphics.

Where can you find graphics? Now, there are some great sites, like Bigstockphoto and GettyImages that provide quality, royalty-free images for a small cost. After all, you want to do the right thing with copyright for images. You can also find a more limited range of free images from sites like FreeDigitalPhotos or stockxchng that are also royalty-free.

Faith-focused photos But I'm sure you will have found it difficult to find appropriate images for many of your planned projects for children or family ministry. Now, with LightStock, you can find faith-based photos for just what you need- nativity images, resurrection, for kids' VBS activities, back-to-school, service projects and so much more. They have some great photos; even a simple search, like 'children' produces some wonderful images.

You'll find individual images or collections that showcase a particular artist or a present photos with a similar theme. And, the growing base of faithful believers provides a safe-search environment.

How? It's easy. 1. Simply sign up and buy credits. Credits can be bought in various packages starting at $10, although there are advantages for purchasing larger credit packages. ( You'll get an extra $5 credit on your birthday.) 2. Search the growing selection of photos and choose your photo. 3. Select an image size and click to download. You can also join up to share your own images if you have a particular talent in this area. Check out the images here and find a treasure-trove of photos for your next special project for kidmin.

Why, you ask, would you need such a basic info sheet for visitors? Your ministry area is clearly visible in the foyer. Your leaders are on hand ready to answer any questions. A visitor's pack is available to hand out to children who are new to your programs. So... why?

A quick and easy reference A good question.. But, picture a new family walking into the church on Sunday. They're nervous and don't want anyone to notice them just yet while they find a seat and check out everything- the friendliness of the greeters, the music and sounds of others talking, other families and kids, any posters etc.

And... they will take time to read anything that has been handed to them, including the church bulletin and, hopefully, your short info sheet slipped inside the bulletin.

It's printed as a separate A5 sheet so that it can be pinned to their fridge later for easy access. If you want it encourage this, you could laminate the info sheet and pop a magnet on the back. Make sure that you include your basic contact details- your name (or pastor's name),address, contact number, website.

What else do I include? The info sheet provides basic information about your ministry. It's been set out in a visual manner that can be quickly scanned. It should quickly provide information about your Sunday morning groups. It should mention any family/parent support. It should highlight any extra programs and events. And it should encourage the reader to check out other information sources, such as your social media & website.

QR codes provide links to more info It might also be helpful to include QR codes that will take readers to further reference areas- website, social media, online information etc. QR codes are easily recognised as information sources and can be readily scanned with a smart phone app. If you want to include QR codes, check out QRstuff. It's really easy to use and allows you to link to a huge choice of information sources. Then download the QRcode image and add to your info sheet.

Remember to include more information about your programs and events on your weekly slide during the church announcements. See here for information and help with these powerpoint slides. Download the info sheet image and a Publisher file for creating your own info sheet below.

Any frustrations in ministry? What are your greatest frustrations in ministry with kids? Perhaps it's balancing your family and ministry commitments. Maybe, it's volunteers or leaders who turn up late on Sunday mornings. Or does your frustration lie mainly with church leadership that sees your role mainly as keeping the kids and parents happy.

A lack of communication The frustration often experienced by kidmin leaders is developing effective ways to communicate with parents. It's certainly encouraging when parents thank you for your effective ministry to their kids. It's even more so when they enthusiastically offer to regularly help out in your children's ministry areas. But what can you do to more effectively inform all parents, and the church family, about events, news, ministry challenges and updates about children's ministry? How can you communicate and share your vision of children's ministry with church leaders?

Communication tools This week, I'll present some ideas and simple tools to help with communication to parents, church family and the community. Probably, one of the more simple tools though often overlooked- a weekly powerpoint slide.

First, make sure that you have a slide to remind parents that it's time for the kids to go out for their program (if that's how your church organises the kids' program.) Check with your pastor beforehand about the timing for the kids to leave. He may have planned something special in the service and would like the kids to remain until after or a time of prayer may be interrupted if the kids leave at a certain point. Remind those on multimedia about when the slide should go up.

Weekly powerpoint slide Another helpful communication tool to highlight your children's ministry is a simple ministry update slide to include with the weekly announcement slides. Don't add too much detail but regular updates will add interest and awareness of your kidmin. Include information about a new series, training information, reminders for parents to collect home bulletins or to check your kidmin website. Change the information weekly with fresh updates and information so that your church family will own this effective ministry and recognize its impact on kids and families. It also highlights your ministry to those without family who may still encourage neighbours and friends to experience this vital work with kids. You can download a couple of these slides below.

Some children's ministry leaders add an exciting game to conclude the lesson or program. And it does add some extra zing to the program. Occasionally, you might want to start your lesson with a game to really grab the kids' attention. Sometimes it's helpful to have a special game or two up your sleeve for those times when 'big church' runs too long.

Why games? But your lesson will have so much more impact with the kids (and your volunteers, too, I think) if you can include games that will reinforce your lesson's theme or Bible point. Much of the current curricula now include game suggestions for each lesson. But if not, and you're looking for some special game ideas then take a moment or two to check out Group's 'Giant Book of Games'- due for release next week.

Giant book of games for children's ministry This collection of over 200 giant games is tied to a different topic, with a Scripture connection and discussion to help kids understand the Bible point. What could be easier? You'll also find a reference to each game’s energy level, supply level, age level, and preparation needed, The kids will have loads of fun and will remember your Bible point, too! List price $29.99 but you can get it for $20.24 HERE.

Powerpoint games There are other types of games, of course, that you may be looking for that can be used at the start of your program to capture the attention of kids as they arrive and to settle the group before you begin your lesson. You can find quite a few of these as powerpoint games from Children's Ministry Deals and most of them are free- always good!

You'll find 'Name that Cereal', 'Name that Food', 'King or Prophet' and 'Fruit or Veggie' powerpoint game, to name just a few. It might be a good idea to download some for that unexpected moment or to calm your unexpectedly restless group. You can find these games here.